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Clock Crew
The Clock Crew (abbreviated as CC) is a Newgrounds Flash Crew that is said to be established by StrawberryClock, an alt of Coolboyman, on August 15, 2001, with the submission of B to the Flash Portal. StrawberryClock/Coolboyman was not actually involved with the formation of the Clock Crew, though it was clearly formed around his character. In fact, a founder group of fruitclocks- OrangeClock, Pineapple etc. created the group with their own characters and added the character Strawberry Clock - a strawberry with a clock face, as the foremost character in the CC movies. The Movie "B" Strawberry Clock first submitted the movie called "A", which was blammed, then "B", which was also blammed at least once http://www.clockcrew.cc/clockopedia/doku.php?id=the_clock_crew#clock_crew_history. However, when he resubmitted it on August 15th it scraped through judgement, low enough to get Turd of The Week. A group of other NG members used this movie, which the CC portray as historic, as an icon in the formation of the Clock Crew. B has thousands of views and hundreds of reviews, despite being nothing more than a single letter B with no animation- which is against Tom Fulp's specifications for a flash submission. Creating the Crew Three Clocks emerged on Newgrounds in September 2001, shortly after B went through Judgement, inspired by StrawberryClock and defended the controversial 'spamming' by StrawberryClock. These were OrangeClock, AppleClock and RaspberryClock, of which Orange is credited on the Clock Crew website as starting the Crew. PineappleClock joined soon after, creating the set of five original fruitclocks. From this, with submissions and dialogue on the BBS, the Clock Crew came into being. Strawberry Clock and the Clock Characters The author, Strawberry Clock has never been much involved with the Clock Crew although his character, portrayed as a Strawberry with a clock for a face, sometimes crowned, is in countless Clock movies. The CC usually depict him as a bumbling, often selfish leader of a group of characters of fruit, vegetables or other objects all with clocks for faces. They are usually portrayed as living in a realm called Clocktopia, with Strawberry Clock as their king. He is also popularly portrayed as the self-proclaimed king of the (or sometimes teh) Newgrounds Portal. Top scoring examples of Clock Movies in their own lore include: Strawberry Goes Camping Clock Movie Style The Clock Crew style] of movie, usually involves using simple images of objects made into characters using a clock for a face, often with simple hands and no arms and moving by bouncing without legs. The voice is usually, a computer generated voice, usually Speakonia and the speaker is indicated by a waggling indicator over the character. All of these methods make the characters and movies very easy to make without much animating skill, although that does not mean that all movies of this type are neccesarily crude or without skill. Originally the CC put the letters CC in front of most of their movies, but their website now advises against it, stating that they feel many users will be biased against such movies and vote against them without even viewing them. Speakonia voices Originally, authors like Orange Clock made movies with their own voices, then Speakonia came to be used in most clock movies, then copied by the various following Ock and other crews. The Clock Crew parody "Behind the Magic" plays with the Speakonia voice by showing the characters use their "real" voices "off camera". Limbs/Hands These can be anything from a total lack of limbs, such as OrangeClock's movies, where objects move as if manipulated by hands that are not seen, through round circles for hands, through to hands and wrists. Movement Most Clocks move by bouncing, a relatively easy-to-animate option, accompanied by a bouncing sound in the better-made movies. Orange Clock is occasionally seen rolling. Clock Crew Membership At first, the founder members were simply some people who submitted flash with Clock Names, then they gradually became a formal crew, with websites being set up to organise members and have forums to talk to each other and plan things together. Today, the idea for becoming an official Clock Crew member is much more formal. Potential members are expected to get involved in creating and submitting Flash animations, to choose an original name and to behave in an appropriate manner. Rules and advice on becoming a member is on the Joining Page of the Clock Crew site Clock Crew Website Over the years, the Clock Crew has had a number of websites, but since 2007, when Newgrounds stepped in to sponsor their site, they should now have a permenant home. Their site is a substantial website with forums; a members list; a map of Clocks around the world; their own official Clock encyclopedia and all the rules and info that organise a large international group with selected membership. Recognition by Newgrounds The Clock crew was the first crew on NG to be recognised by Newgrounds, by having its Clock Day- 15th of August- recognised on the Portal with banners and adverts. This is always one of the biggest days on the NG calendar. CC also has a number of Collections on NG. Furthermore, in 2007, Newgrounds decided to support the Clock Crew by sponsoring their website. Spin-offs A couple years ago, one main faction broke off of the Clock Crew; the Lock Legion, which was composed of former clocks and people who wished to annoy the Clock Crew. While they continued to contribute to the Portal, other spin-offs started appearing. The Clock style is copied- each group swaps the clock face for a symbol of their group, such as a keyhole for the Lock Legion and an anchor for the Dock Division. These groups took on a similar name, usually a random object and synonym for a group, collaboration, or organization starting with the same letter as the predetermined object. Examples include the Star Syndicate, the Uzi Union, the Block Band, the Glock Group, the Barney Bunch, and the Plastic People. These groups are often short-lived, but some manage to make a name for themselves and become established at least long enough to get a Collection on Newgrounds. Links *The Clock Crew Wiki *The Clock Crew web site *Clockopedia, the official Clock encylcopedia Category:Clock Crew Category:Editor's Choice